Dr Curtis
by WonderPickle
Summary: After Happy can't seem to fall asleep, Toby decides to give her a short therapy session. Set after the events of 3x17. Quintis one-shot. For Southernbookgirl.


**thank you so much for the prompt, southernbookgirl! I really appreciate it, and I sincerely hope you like it!**

 **also, CONFIRMED SEASON FOUR WOOHOOO!**

 **enjoy!**

* * *

Toby watched as her figure continued to toss and turn in the darkness. His concern had progressively increased, directing his full attention to her.

Honestly, it really wasn't much of a surprise why she was still awake. Although she'd managed to drift off during Sly's debate, those hallucinations weren't going to be discarded all too easily. Happy's childhood pain was rooted too deeply for it to torment her like it did and not bring repercussions.

And insomnia was apparently first on the list.

Happy's head shifted on the pillow yet again, her waves of soft hair brushing against his arm in the process.

Toby let himself interrupt their silence. His proceeding voice was soft and coaxing, but he retained a twinge of playfulness behind it. "Can't sleep?" he ventured.

The engineer groaned. "No." She turned towards him. "It's the damn neurotoxins. They're still messing with my brain."

"Messing with your brain like 'the remaining chemicals are preventing me from dreaming about my hunky fiancé' messing with you, or 'I'm still relieving my deepest fears when I close my eyes' messing with you?"

She huffed. "You'd like that first one to be true, wouldn't you, doc?"

Despite the grin on his face, he managed to deliver a serious reply. "As much as I want you to sleep, I have to tell you that's normal, Hap. You went through a lot today."

"You said we'd be fine."

"I meant physically."

Happy cocked a brow. "Sly and Cabe seemed fine at the debate."

"Cabe talked to Allie about his fears. And Sly confronted them when he faced off against Patel. You never discussed them, sweetheart."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you seriously trying to shrink me at this hour?"

Toby shrugged. "I could always leave you to face your inner demons alone. But I _won't_ , because I'm a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, and I know you're hurting. And more importantly, because I love you."

"You talked me out of being loony in the first place. Don't you already know what I saw?"

"It's not about the events that occurred. It's about how they made you feel, what old pain they might've revived."

Happy began to work the muscles in her jaw. "The only pain there's going to be is in your face after I punch you for not shutting up. Do you know what time it is?"

"Happy," he told her, "it's healthier for you to talk to me about what you endured rather than neglect it. Besides, you've been tossing and turning more than a full load in the dryer."

"What's there to talk about?"

"Give me a recap of the events and your emotional responses to them. We can work through it."

"Did you forget we have _jobs_ , dummy? If we oversleep because we stayed up all night _chit-chatting_ , Walt will-"

"Walt will have to suck it up," Toby interjected, "Lovebug, the intense epinephrine, acute fear, and childhood suffering are all factors as to your inability to sleep. But if you share what you experienced, that built up pain won't be as...well, painful."

Happy stared at him for a minute. He watched as several emotions flickered in her pupils, a vulnerable action she only allowed him to witness. "If this'll get you to can it afterwards, then fine."

He immediately shot up in the bed, swiftly reaching towards the left to flick on the lamp. An alertness widened his brown eyes.

"Doc," she warned, taking note of his reaction, "this is not a therapy session. I'm not your patient."

"I know that. I _just_ want to help Hap," he replied, nodding, "So, what happened first?"

Happy gave him a look he'd become all too familiar with, slightly raised eyebrows and a breath waiting to be expelled behind her gorgeous lips. "Well, I was in a dingy, dimly lit room, surrounded by all the other kids. It was the day parents came to scope us out, inspect us like we were slabs of meat."

"Except, none of them wanted to adopt you," Toby instantly finished, "which left you feeling alone and rejected..."

The mechanic shot him glare. "What happened to shutting up and listening?"

He put his hands up defensively. "My bad. What came next?"

"You showed up," she answered, "I mean, not you _you_ , a less childish, more doctor-like side of you. It was...weird. You were sophisticated."

Ignoring her last comment, he instead focused on the previous. "It was more than _weird_ , Happy. It was whatever fears and worries you have of me abandoning you come to life. Whether they were something in your subconscious or something you were fully aware of, they were still there in front of your eyes, and still causing you to suffer."

Happy's tongue rang along the inside of her lips. "Just like the parents, you didn't want me."

Toby promptly outstretched a thumb to coaxingly rub along her ring finger. "Whoever you saw wasn't me. Only a madman would leave you."

"You said you couldn't make a permanent commitment. You couldn't be stuck with me for the rest of your life."

"That happens to be quite untrue, sugarplum. Because I _love_ you. So much so that I proposed, as you might recall, and told you I would _keep_ loving you for the rest of our lives."

"It just seemed... _real_. Like all the times it actually happened."

"You never deserved to go through that as a child. But it's okay for it to still be affecting you. Especially with your dad's recent departure." The male genius planted an affectionate kiss on the knuckle he was previously stroking. "I just want to help you get past these hallucinations."

Happy blinked. "What exactly am I supposed to be getting past?"

"Well, what you experienced was a combination of old memories and new fears, both things that hit close to home. It was basically a half an hour of pulling on your heartstrings like they belonged to a puppet. That won't disappear within a day."

"So, what does it entail?"

Toby shrugged. "Talking with your favorite psychiatrist until the idea of me ever abandoning you doesn't even seem plausible."

Happy offered a small smile against the fatigue pulling at her features. Tension visibly diminished from her body.

Toby leaned towards her, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He leaned away, but still kept his face close enough for their breaths to intermingle.

"Thank you."

His brows furrowed. "For what?"

"Maybe a late night therapy session _wasn't_ such a bad idea."

"Well," he told her with a smirk, "I _am_ a genius doctor. I tend to be right about most things."

She rolled her eyes, but snuggled back into the covers nonetheless.

Toby turned in the opposite direction to shut off the lamp. "Now, it might take a while for you to fall asleep, your mind is currently processing-" the proceeding smile tugging at his lips cut him short when he spun around again. Her eyes were already closed, small breaths brushing against the skin under her nose. Within seconds of the end of their conversation, she'd managed to sleep. The undesirable emotions plaguing her thoughts had been killed. For now.

Toby pulled the top layer of blankets atop her unconscious figure. "Sweet dreams, princess."


End file.
